SP2-1 The impact of COVID-19 on cancer treatment in Japan; actual condition, countermeasure, and task

Sunakawa, Yu

The first case of COVID-19 was reported on January 16, 2020 in Japan, and COVID-19 was classified as a designated infectious disease on February 1. “Three pillars” of COVID-19 countermeasures have been formulated, including: 1. Early detection of and early response to clusters, 2. Enhancement of intensive care and securing medical service system for the severely ill patients, including medical equipments (Ventilator, ECMO, etc), 3. Behavior modification of citizens. The number of cases increased in late March, triggered by the influx of infected patients from overseas, and a state of emergency was declared on April 7. In May, the spread of the disease began to be temporarily controlled, and the declaration of a state of emergency was lifted on May 25. With the reactivation of social activities, the number of infected people has again rose since late June of 2020. The ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affects daily care for patients with cancer. For cancer patients, it is difficult to terminate hospital visits for treatment and assessments, but the visits themselves can be a risk of infection, especially for individuals who have risk factors of COVID-19 infection. Patients of COVID-19 with cancer have been reported to have a high mortality rate. The basic principle of preventing COVID-19 infection is to reduce close contact with other people. Medical staff need to plan infection-control measures at each institute, and preventing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in a cancer hospital is important for maintaining cancer treatment. In addition, cancer patients frequently exhibit cancer-specific or treatment-specific symptoms that resemble those of COVID-19. Thus, it is essential to establish a screening strategy for patients with COVID-19-like symptoms to prevent further infections and to provide cancer care. I will present the actual condition, countermeasure, and task for COVID-19 pandemic in cancer treatment in Japan.